Pinterest, Baby!

If you are like me, you may have heard of a little site called Pinterest. Apparently, there are a few minor details in the fine print (that I was not aware of.....because I didn't read the it!). Be sure to check out Laura's blog for all the details, PLUS a "permission to Pin" badge you can add to your sidebar.

Read Across America is right around the corner!

NEA's Read Across America
event will be on Friday, March 2nd. 

Do you and your class participate? 
What kinds of activities do you do?

We send a note home asking kids to wear pajamas;
bring in a pillow, blanket, a drink and/or snack;
and of course.....BOOKS!

Check out more read-a-thon notes, rules, and ideas
from Rachelle and Natalie at:

(in) Real Life **non teaching post**

I've been feeling very overwhelmed, anxious, stressed, depressed, CRAZY lately.....so I've taken the last two days off as much needed "mental health" days.

Tuesday:  I took the dogs to the park, did a little laundry, cleaned a little, slept a little, took my son to the rodeo (yee ha!), and crashed as soon as we got home.  Tenth Avenue North performed last night, and they were GREAT!  They are a Christian band, and I needed to hear the songs, the praise, and the positive message because of the feelings I mentioned above.

Wednesday: Woke up with a headache, got coffee (okay--and donuts) to help with headache, got groceries (and other unnecessary items), cleaned a little, Skyped a little, and now I'm doing a little online searching, and who knows what I'll do later.

Anyways, one of the blogs I follow is Lysa Tyrkheurst (I'm sure I screwed up the spelling!).  Her blog led me to another site, (in) real life.  Here is just some of what I found:

Yup, we're bringing the beach house to you with the goal of connecting women beyond the blog post! How? Well, with a day of (in)courage meetups - think mini beach house parties - all around the country and globe and a webcast for everyone to tune into. A local meetup on a global scale; friends will gather to watch live webcasts of (in)courage contributors and community, connect with one another, and discover new friendships they didn't know were right around the corner!

There will be something for everyone - walking, talking, laughing, hugging, blog content - right in the comfort of your living room. The webcast kicks off on Friday, April 27 and (in)RL beach house parties follow on Saturday, April 28 with more live (in)courage content to tune into together. Just imagine thousands of (in)courage women all over the world getting together in homes, coffee shops, restaurants, or churches - you name it- to connect in real life!

This sounds like something I need to help get me out of the funk I am in, so I did it.  I registered, and I am planning on being a host too!  Check it out if you are interested!

No child left behind?

The testing starts earlier and earlier...........

Fractions?

uh oh!

Thankful Thursday!

Thankful Thing #1

I can't believe my little ol' blog has 150 followers! 

I know my blog is not much compared to others,

but I keep trying to remind myself of a quote I recently read: 

"Don't compare yourself to others. 

Comparison is the thief of happiness." 

SO TRUE!

So...thank you to all my follwers

AND to all the awesome blog authors that I follow!

You have so many GREAT ideas and you are willing to

SHARE them with me (and others of course)!!

I can't wait to see what you'll do next!

Thankful Thing #2....3....and 4 (okay, and 5)

I know not every child who struggles is "special ed", "learning disabled", or whatever other label is out there.  However, there are times when you just know! 

T is one of those. 

She came to me this year not knowing any sounds, and could only recognize a few letters and numbers. She was very unfocused (even in one on one situations), loud, disruptive (do you get the picture?). 

She saw the Reading Specialist 5 days a week, and had been doing so since Kindergarten.  Her data "folder" was turned in earlier this year, and my hope was that they would have all the information they needed to finally test her. 

No......such.....luck!

T's folder was sent back.  I was told I needed more data.  Are you kidding me??  We had a year's worth of data, yet somehow it wasn't enough!  So, what did I do?  I did what I had to do-- I collected more data, and resent her folder.    Finally, I got the glorious news!

Hallelujah!  Let the testing begin!

Finally, she was tested!   Finally, she qualified!  Then I heard the dreaded "b" word.  No, not THAT "b" word!!  The other one.....but.    BUT, she won't be put in special ed until next year.

I'm sorry, w  h  a  t??

After some discussion, it was decided that she could "unofficially" start services now (whoopee!), and next year it would be official (whoopee!).  She is finally getting what she needs! 

So where is the thankfulness here?

#2  T qualified and is receiving the extra help she needs.

#3  T is finally on meds to help her focus (w o w)!

#4  T is hilarious, and can make me smile

(even when I don't want to)!

#5  I am thankful that T is in my class!!

Thank YOU for reading this!

Happy 100th Day!

Our 100th day of school was last Thursday, which as you know was also Groundhog Day.  Here are some pictures to show some of what we did to celebrate.

This is from abcteach.com.

 

  

The kids are enjoying their 100th day trail mix. 

We also asked the kids (and teachers) to dress up like they were 100 years old.  Yeah, I know the kids' pictures are sideways, but you get the idea!

 Here's to the next 75 days!!!

Adventure to Fitness, anyone?

Have you and your kids tried this?

Every week, Mr. Marc takes you on a new adventure to real locations around the world.  You learn about the place while getting in some physical exercise, and the kids LOVE it!

Accessing Each Week’s Adventure is as easy as 1, 2, 3.

STEP 1:  Enter the following address into your browser’s address bar:

                          www.adventuretofitness.tv

STEP 2:  Create your account

Click the "Create Account" button.  Remember, you must use your official    school email address to participate.  This process takes seconds to complete.

Note: A validation email will be sent to your school email address. The validation email will come from admin@adventuretofitness.com.  Subject line will read “Adventure to Fitness Network Registration”.  Once you click the validation link, you are ready for step three!

If you don’t receive the validation email in your mailbox, please check your spam or junk mail folders.

STEP 3:  Click “Play” to view the current week’s episode or scroll down for past adventures.

Ø Every episode comes with Teacher Guides and aligns to State Standards in common core subjects.

      

If you have further questions please do not hesitate to contact us.

Phone:        407-324-KIDS (5437)

                      888-406-7779

Email:         customerservice@adventuretofitness.com

                     techsupport@adventuretofitness.com



A Day in My Shoes!

I know I'm very late to this Linky Party, but here goes!

Here is what a typical school day looks like for me:

5:00-6:30 AM  The dreaded alarm goes off---get up, feed the dogs, exercise ( this just started this past week, but who cares!), shower, get ready, eat breakfast, make sure kid is up/packed/fed, put dogs in kennel

6:30-6:35 AM  Drive to school--Yes, I do have a 5 minute commute and LOVE it!

6:45-8:00 AM  Work in room, prepare for day, make copies, socialize

8:00-8:30 AM  Pick up kids from gym and walk back to our room, get unpacked, kids start on morning work while I go through folders (take out HW, pick up notes/money/whatever), go over morning work

8:30-10:00 AM  Reading Block which includes spelling, phonics, and of course....reading

10:05-10:55 AM  Specials (my conference time), which lately has been consumed with Report Cards, collecting and logging all yearbook orders (because I have nothing else to do am in charge of this for the whole school), planning for Family Math Night (I volunteered to do this,  because I have nothing else to do trouble saying NO), planning for the field trip (because I have nothing else to do am the grade level leader), answering phone calls/parent notes, and about a thousand other things!

11:00-11:30 AM   Lunch, that leisurely time of day when I can sit, eat, and relax finish all the things I could not finish during my conference....while drinking a cup of soup.

11:30-12:45  Math...my FAVORITE time of the day!

12:45-1:45  Grammar, Writing, Social Studies

1:45-2:00  Woo hoo!    RECESS

2:00-2:45  Science  Who am I kidding?? 
It takes 15 minutes to have all 150 first graders take a restroom and water break after recess!

2:15-2:45  Science

2:45-3:00  Clean up, hand out folders, stack chairs, remind kids to clean up, and stack chairs

3:05-3:30  Walk students to dismissal area, go to car duty (open car doors for students)

3:30-5:00 (or later)  Get back to work!

5:00ish  Decide it's time to be a parent and head on home!